


Pegasus Problem

by Debi_C



Series: Pegasus Team [5]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-19
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2017-12-20 18:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/890261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debi_C/pseuds/Debi_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel goes on a mission with Sheppard, Ronon and Teyla and learns about the Pegasus Galaxy.  Then some new military personnel arrive to complicate matters. There is also a mystery person involved.  Do I have to tell all ready?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Daniel closed his backpack and turned from the bed to face his partner. “It’ll be fine Jack.”

“Fine. Why does that word bother me so much?” The retired General grumped at his partner.

“I don’t know Jack. Why does it?”

Jack was sitting on the odd looking but very comfortable chair that had appeared in their tower apartment. He looked at up a Daniel. “Probably because every time you say it, you aren’t.”

“Jack,” Daniel hefted the backpack over his shoulder. “I’m going with SGA 1, John, Ronan and Teyla. I’ll be fine.”

“What? No Rodney?”

“Nope, Rodney is staying on Atlantis and working on trying to recharge one of the old ZPMs.” Daniel headed towards the door. “I’m going to translate some carving on Andoria that they think may be in Ancient.”

“And this is important why?”

“To learn, Jack. It’s important to keep learning. The Ancients originated here in the Pegasus Galaxy, WE originated here.” Daniel’s voice got higher and louder as he turned to face O’Neill. “Just because we beat the Ori, doesn’t mean we can stop learning about them.”

“Okay, okay. Keep your sexy Atlantis tunic uniform top on.” Jack stood up and approached him. “I just get worried when you go off world, er, Atlantis without me.” He wrapped his arms around his mate and kissed him gently on the lips. “You know me, I’m a little paranoid.”

“That’s like saying Ba’al was a little egotistical.”

“You are comparing me to Bocce Ball?”

“Never. You’re much better looking.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” Jack smiled at him.

Daniel kissed him back. “Come on, I’ll be late.”

“Late? You? What kind of training did you get anyway?”

Daniel just smiled and headed out the door. He paused at the opening. “You coming to see me off?”

“Does Atlantis want you to go?” Jack asked suddenly serious.

Daniel tilted his head and seemed to look off into the distance. “She doesn’t seem to have an opinion.”

“I think she’s worried.”

“If she is, it’s because you are.” He headed towards the door that opened automatically.

“Then, we’re both right.”

 

Daniel and Jack met with the rest of SGA 1 in the embarkation room. A jumper rested on the floor waiting for them to climb aboard. John was already inside powering the little ship up. Teyla and Ronon were stowing equipment as they waited. The diminutive woman smiled at them as they arrived, Ronon took Daniel’s backpack and tossed it to her. 

“Are you ready?” The big man asked, looked Daniel over and grinned wolfishly.

“Always ready for adventure.” The smaller man replied returning his grin.

“Adventure eh. A book I read said it is a curse to live in adventurous times.”

John exited the Puddle jumper. “I think it said interesting times, Chewie.”

“Whatever. They mean almost the same thing.” The Satedan commented.

“Not on Earth.” Jack commented sourly.

“Well, here they often do.” Ronon growled. “But don’t worry O’Neill; I’ll take good care of him.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“We will all watch out for him” Teyla assured him coming to the rear hatch and standing with her hands on her hips.

“Hey, I’m right here you know.” Daniel protested. “I’ve been going through the Stargate for a long time now. I think I know what I’m doing.”

“Daniel, no one is arguing that you can’t do the translation, but you have to admit you do get into trouble occasionally.” Rodney piped up from the control room.

“Shit magnet.” Jack commented dourly.

“Worry wart.”

John laughed. “Come on, Dr. Jackson. It’s time to go so we can get back.”

The four entered the jumper. As the hatch closed Ronon turned back to look a Jack. "Don't worry, O'Neill. I'll keep him safe and warm."


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They find survivors.

John brought the jumper down several miles from the Stargate. Teyla had explained that it was always better to approach villages on foot as some people were still wary of Ancestors from Atlantis.

Disembarking they loaded up their backpacks and started the hike to meet with the Andorran village. Daniel was secretly relieved that Jack hadn’t come with them so they wouldn’t be regaled with Star Trek comments.

As they marched along, the two leaders John and Teyla kept quiet only speaking in hushed tones. Ronin who was beside him looked grim.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel finally asked.

“Don’t know, but when Teyla looks like that it’s never good.”

“Things do not feel right, Dr. Jackson.” The woman answered tightly. “We should hear sounds or smell the village fires by now. This is not normal.”

Ronon frowned. “I smell something. But it’s not cooking fires. I was hoping it was a dead stag.”

John looked at the big Satedan. “You go ahead and scout the outskirts, but don’t take any risks.”

His teammate nodded, dropped his backpack and trotted off down the trail.

“What do you think happened?”

Before anyone could answer Daniel, Ronon was back. “It was a culling. I saw a wraith dart hung in a tree. The pilot’s dead.”

“You didn’t have time to reach the village.” John protested.

“If you see a wraith, you do not have to.” Teyla commented sadly. It had been many years since this planet had been culled.”

“I think they’ve gone.” Ronon said. “The village should be checked for survivors.”

“Yeah, Teyla and I will do that real quick like. You get Jackson to the temple area.” John looked at the archaeologist. “Make it fast. Take pictures and whatever but I don’t want to take a lot of time here. I’ll radio you what we find.”

Ronon nodded. “Come on Daniel, the ruins are this way.”

Jackson looked at the three team members and nodded. 

Ronon led at a quick pace through the heavily wooded area. Daniel followed though he had no idea how the other man was finding his way as there didn’t appear to have a path of any kind. They traveled quickly, not wasting any time. They needed to get in, get the info Daniel wanted then get back to the jumper. Then, suddenly, Ronon stopped raising a hand in a motion he could only have learned from Sheppard.

“What?”

“Shss.” The big man hissed. He pointed towards a thick corpse of trees then motioned Daniel to stay put. He moved quietly towards the cover and pulled on a limb. A quiet gasp sounded from the darkness. “Come on out. You’re safe.”

A group of children of varying ages crept out of their hiding place. “Who are you?” an older girl with dark hair holding a baby asked.

Ronon and Daniel looked at each other then with unspoken permission; the big warrior stepped in front of the ground and went down on one knee to be face to face. “We’re from Atlantis. The Wraith have gone.”

“Where are our parents?” A small blond boy asked in a quavering voice.

“We don’t know.” Daniel came forward. “The village is empty.”

The girl looked at them with a tear running down her face. “They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

“We don’t know for sure.” Jackson answered her quietly. “Some may still be alive but there’s no way of telling. They could be hiding like you.”

“No, they would have come looking for us.” The girl said sadly.

“So, you will come with us to Atlantis.” Ronon said firmly. “We will take you home with us.”

Daniel looked up at the big man. “Can we?”

“We can’t leave them here.” The Satedan nodded. “We do it all the time.” He tapped on his radio’s earwig. “Sheppard, we have a situation.”

The little boy who spoke earlier stepped forward and looked up into Daniel’s face. “Are you the Ancestors?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, but we live in their city. It’s very cool.”

The child looked at him in disbelief. “It’s cold?”

“No, I mean, its wonderful.” He replied to the child with a grin. “You’ll like it.”

“We would rather have our parents.” The girl said firmly.

“Yes, but…” Daniel looked at the girl. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Leila. This is Cobbie.” She juggled the baby and glared at the blond boy. “He’s Aether.”

“Well, Leila and everyone else.” Ronon spoke up. “Sheppard and Teyla are coming and we’ll take you to Atlantis where you can eat and sleep safe. We’ll keep looking for your parents.”


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel runs into a very familiar situation.

Jack O’Neill wandered purposefully in to the observation area of Atlantis’ gate room. Rodney was there already, standing beside Richard Woolsey. “What’s going on?”

The civilian administrator and head of Atlantis looked at him suspiciously. “Hello, General. The team is coming in a bit early. Why are you here?”

“Oh, you know.” He used his index finger to point at the ceiling. “She told me to get down here cause the ship is coming back early.”

McKay looked at him oddly. “She? You mean Atlantis.”  
“Yeahshuryabetcha.” He nodded. “She was pretty insistent.”

“Is Dr. Jackson hurt?” Woolsey asked concernedly.

“She didn’t say that. Just that they were coming in early.”

“Did she say why?”

Jack cocked his head as if he were listening to someone not in the room. “Just, no, no. She just… Well, it looks like we’ll all get our answers.”

“Incoming wormhole.” Chuck, the technician announced. “It’s the jumper. Clear the room.”

The marines scrambled for their posts and took their positions weapons ready. The wormhole formed and the small spaceship slid into the gate room. It stayed there a minute then the floor opened and it disappeared into the docking area.

“Well, that was interesting.” Jack commented to the room at large.

“Well, what’s happening?” Carson Beckett appeared in the gate room. “Atlantis wanted me here.”

“We don’t know yet.” Woolsey replied. 

The floor then rose slowly up from the jumper area. Sheppard, Ronon, and Daniel were standing surrounded by children. Teyla was actually holding a toddler in her arms. “Hello, Woolsey.” Sheppard said with a crooked smile. “We have some guests.”

“So I see.” The older man said quietly. “What’s happened?”

“The planet was culled.” Ronon answered bluntly. “We found the kids hiding in the woods.”

“We could not leave them there.” Teyla put in, juggling the child to her other hip. “They were alone.”

“Of course not.” Woolsey recovered nicely. He looked at the physician. “Dr. Beckett, if you would check our guests to see if they need anything medically then we can feed them and make them comfortable.”

A dark haired girl looked around suspiciously as if she didn’t quite trust their rescuers. A blond boy stepped closer to Daniel and looked up at him. “Is this it?” at Daniel’s nod he looked directly at Jack. “Is he an Ancestor?”

As Jack stepped forward the boy cringed back against Jackson’s leg. “Hey, son. No, I’m not a really real Ancestor. I’m kind of one of their descendants.” He knelt down to eye level with the child. “Daniel is a really good friend of mine though.”

The boy looked back up at Jack’s husband. Daniel smiled down at them both. “He’s my very best friend in the whole, well, everything. You can trust him.”

”I tell you what,” Jack looked over at Carson who nodded and smiled. “Why don’t you and me and everyone else go with Carson here to his office? He’s a healer. This way we can make sure everyone is okay and then we can go get some food.” At the children’s interested look, he smiled. “What’s your name anyway?”

“Aether, and that’s my cousin Leila and her brother Cobbie.” The blond boy waved his hand around the rest of the group. “These others are from our village. When the feeders came, my father told us to take them to the woods and hide.”

His sister frowned at him. “We were supposed to wait. Now we’re not there. Sulinn will be angry.”

One of the other children, a dark haired boy spoke up. “We ran out of food Leila. It wasn’t supposed to take so long.”

Another girl echoed his sentiments. “They were supposed to come, but they didn’t. We’re all hungry and dirty.” She began to cry, tears running white streaks on her dirty face.

When Leila looked down at the floor and couldn’t answer her, Carson used the opportunity to take charge. He smiled winsomely at the girl. “Leila, why don’t we all go down to the clinic now?”

Aether nodded. "Papa would say it was all right. He told us to take care of everyone."

Daniel looked down and smiled. "And you have."

John who had been watching the scene unfold, came over and squatted down to eye level to Leila and Aether. "C'mon. You go eat. We'll take care of everything. Don't worry."

Teyla smiled and stepped forward to start the crowd moving. “I will go also. Cobbie is my friend too.”

Sheppard stood up and nodded. “Yeah, we’ll debrief Woolsey. Jackson, come on with us.”

 

Several hours later, they had gotten the children checked over medically. There were a few abrasions, a lot of dirt and dehyration. They had been cleaned, fed and put together in a large room with several beds that Atlantis had fabricated for them. The adults all felt that the youngsters would feel more safe and comfortable in a group setting. Carson, Teyla and Jack had finally left them alone with Leila in charge of the group. 

By the time Jack got back to their quarters, he knew Daniel was there but he couldn’t see him. He crossed through the living area and saw the remains of a sandwich and a half a pie that was sitting the table in the center of the room. He helped himself to a piece of the pie as he wandered into the bedroom and sat down on the bed next to where his partner lay. He sat down next to the supine form. “Hey, whatchadoin?”

Daniel opened his eyes and rolled over onto his side. “Nothing. Just thinking.”

“Bout what?”

“Those kids.”

“Not the Ancient squiggles?”

“Didn’t make it that far.” The younger man replied. “We landed and saw that they had been culled. Sheppard and Teyla started to the village and Ronon and I headed towards the temple then we found the kids.” He shrugged. “They took priority so we had to bring them back.” Daniel sighed. “Sheppard’s team is going to go back to look for more survivors, but Ronon says there’s probably no one left.”

“So, what did they decide to do with the kids?” Jack asked curiously.

“Evidently this is not unusual. The culling survivor scenario anyway. John says that Teyla’s people will take them in and adopt them.” Daniel laid his head back down. “They’ll be alright, but certainly not the life they deserve.”

“Life will be as good as it can be for them at least.”

“In a foster system after their parents were killed in a galaxy far far away.” He flopped over to his stomach and laid his head on Jack’s lap. “Who’d have thought it,”

Jack didn’t have a good reply so he sat there for a while letting his husband come to terms with a very familiar situation.

Finally, Daniel sat up. “Jack, how would you feel about fostering some of the kids?”

“Don’t know.” He replied honestly. “Let’s think about this. I’m not against it, but lets find out a bit more before we jump into this.”

“Okay, deal.” The younger man looked at him and nodded. “We’ll think hard.”

Jack smiled. He thought the thinking had already been done.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some new officers arrive at Atlantis. Two of them are Original Characters. Who's Waldo?

The wormhole snapped shut behind the little group of newcomers. A tall, sandy haired Air Force First Lieutenant wearing pilot's wings dropped his bag and looked around. Glancing at the two other young officers he smiled at their reactions. The pretty blonde female Army Captain with a nurse's insignia on her lapel standing beside him shook her head and turned around to see the whole room. A short freckled red headed Marine also wearing Captain's bars and also with pilot wings cursed softly as he also gazed at the room. 

“Damn!”

John nodded. “Absolutely damn Hugh.” He glanced at the other man and grinned. “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard of or dreamed of seeing.”

The young woman smiled at him. “I’m like totally freaked that this place even exists.”

From an arched entry way a tall slender Colonel with a rakish smile and wild black hair approached the group. He was accompanied by an even taller swarthy man with dreadlocks. “Hey, everyone. Glad to see you made it.” He called out to them.

“Squad, attention!” The Marine Captain called out as he saluted. The other two young officers obediently came to attention. The Air Force pilot bit back a grin. The nurse flushed pink.

“At ease. At ease. You'll scare the civilians.” The senior officer grinned up at the big guy beside him. 

“They don't scare me...much.” The giant replied as he watched the newbies relax.

The Colonel chuckled. “I'm Colonel John Sheppard, the Military Commander of Atlantis. We've been expecting you. What's your names?”

The Marine, obviously the senior ranking officer began introducing his squad starting with the Army nurse. “This is Captain Sheila Montgomery and First Lieutenant John McCoy. I'm Hugh O'Donnell.”

Sheppard nodded and introduced his companion. “This is my teammate on First Atlantis Reconnaissance Team. He's my Special Operations Advisor, Ronon Dex. He'll be doing some combat training with each of you to determine how much extra work you'll need.” He paused a moment to let that sink in then continued. “Do you all know why you're here?”

The Marine responded. “Sir, yes sir. We were all selected because we have the ATA gene and we are all very good at our jobs, sir.”

“Okay then,” Sheppard rubbed his hands together. “That's good to know.” Sheppard motioned to one of the civilian personnel passing by. “Hey Dr. Zelenka?”

The scientist pushed his glasses up on his nose and looked up at the group. “Yes, Colonel?”

“These people just arrived. Can you show them the way to the clinic and drop them off with Dr. Beckett?”

“Certainly,” the slender bespectacled man looked at the three with interest. “Do any of you have the gene?”

“Sir, yes Sir. We all have the ATA gene.”

The man shook his head. “Dobry B'og. Bardziej pomyloni Amerykanie.” Then he said in English. “That is very good. You will be of much use here. Follow me.”

As they walked down the hallway o"Donnell whispered to McCoy. “Does he sound like a Russian to you?”

“From his accent and the flag insignia on his uniform I'd say he was Czech.” John answered him. “I wouldn't call him Russian to his face.”

Zelenka led them silently through the halls but upon arrival at the clinic's entrance he turned to the three newcomers. “Here it is. Dr. Beckett is the surgeon here and will check you out then assign someone to take you to your quarters.”

“Aren't you the doctor, Doctor?” O'Donnell asked.

“No, I am not this kind of doctor." He frowned at the Marine. " I am theoretical physicist. I must go now. Welcome to Atlantis.” he started to stride off then turned to look back at McCoy. “Do I know you? You are very familiar.”

The young lieutenant smiled at him. “No, I don't believe we've ever met but I'm happy to know you now.”

“Yes, yes. A pleasure.” Zelenka smiled quickly, nodded then turned on his heel and left.

The trio entered the hospital area and looked around. It was quite a bit brighter and didn't show the clutter that was common in a medical waiting area. An Army Corpsman came over and guided them to the examination area where he pointed at some chairs. “Wait here. Doctor Beckett will be with you soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Dobry B'og. Bardziej pomyloni Amerykanie .” Good God. More crazy Americans


	5. 5

John McCoy was waiting patiently across the desk from Dr. Carson Beckett. The physician was reading his medical records with rapt attention. He flipped the pages back and forth to read and reread the information contained therein. Finally the man closed the book and glared at him. "This is all true?"

"Every bit of it Doctor. I know its a little unusual but its the truth."

"I'm surprised they let you back into the active duty Air Force." Beckett pursed his mouth and blew his breath out.

"Well," the lieutenant said with a grin. "I did have some help from higher up. They knew what they were getting after all."

"Aye, lad. That's the truth." the doctor nodded. He leaned forward towards the young officer. “I guess I can tell you I'm a clone too.”

“Really?” John was surprised. “How was that accomplished?”

“I was created by the Wraith, or rather a Wraith creature.” the Scotsman scowled. “I didna know my own self had been rescued after his DNA had been taken. Later, he was killed on Atlantis. I was found in a prison.” He sat back and sighed. “I was mightily angered when I was finally rescued. I didna know what had taken them so bloody long to find me.”

“I can well imagine.” John nodded. “I was once left behind and I never did forgive my commander.”

“Well, I couldna be mad after I realized that they had mourned my death and were now verra happy to find me.” Carson smiled at he remembered the rescue. “Then they had to find the right concoction to keep me alive. It's taken a long while to get back here to Atlantis. The IOA was trying to keep me on Earth. Luckily I have the ATA gene and it carried over during the procedure.”

“That's the main reason I'm here.” John nodded. “I needed a new start, I have the gene and the old man put in a few good words for me.”

“The old man?”

“Jack O'Neill.” 

“Oh, aye. It twas indeed a good thing.” Carson closed the folder and put it down on his crowded desk. “But for all intents and purposes you are a healthy human male without need of medical assistance to stay that way. So, welcome to Atlantis” the Scotsman smiled at him. “And dinna you worry, I'll keep your origin on a need to know basis.”

“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate the welcome.” McCoy rose and headed out the door to rejoin his fellow newcomers.

But when he was in the corridor, John realized that the others had already left the clinic area and were probably headed for the dining facility. They had discussed this probability and he walked down the hallway in the direction he thought led to the chow hall.

As John turned a corner he caromed into someone headed in the opposite direction carrying a stack of books and papers. The two men literally bounced off of each other, books and notebooks flying everywhere. McCoy tried to stop the older man from falling but only managed to unbalance both of them. He landed hard on his back and knocked the wind out of himself. After a few seconds, John managed to get to his knees and crawled over to where the other was trying to gather his wits and his papers.

“I'm sorry. Are you hurt?” The other man looked up at him with the bluest eyes in this or any other galaxy. The spectacles that John knew belonged on the face had apparently been knocked off in the collision. “Oh. My. God! Daniel?”

Daniel Jackson looked up at him with disgust. “What the hell do you think you're doing, you idiot. I'm late for an important briefing and I need to get this all picked up. Are you going to help or not?”

Rebuffed by his old friend's unexpected response, John immediately started helping Jackson to gather his paperwork into some semblance of order. Daniel obviously didn't recognize him. “Of course, Sir. I'm sorry for the uh, collision. Let me help you up.”

Once they'd gotten Daniel righted again, John saw the missing pair of glasses on the floor against the wall. He quickly picked them up and put them on the older man's face. He then gently pushed them up on Daniel's nose. "There. Better?"

“Thank you....” Daniel looked hard at the younger man. “Jack?”

John beamed at finally being recognized. “Yeah, its me. I finally made it here too. Only call me John now.”

“It's good to see you again, John.” Daniel returned the broad smile. “Yes, we both did.”

“I'm surprised the old man let you come.”

“Oh. Jack? Well, he's here too. He's retired now and....” Daniel made a face and tapped on the black plastic earpiece everyone seemed to wear. “Jackson. Yes, I'm on my way.” He looked at John. “God, I'm sorry. I really do have a meeting. But you're here. I find you later. Okay?”.

John stood stunned by the unexpected news. Not only was Daniel here, but so was his older self. Damn. “Sure, Dan er, Doctor Jackson. I'm still in-processing. I'll see you later.”

Daniel smiled. “You sure will.” He turned back to his original course and sprinted off.

John shook his head as he headed in the opposite direction. He'd come all this way to escape his older self only to find Jack here in the last place he'd expected to see him. He sighed and started looking for the chow hall. Maybe the food was good.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel finally gets to his meeting with more new news.

Daniel was hurrying down the hall to his meeting with the head of the civilian Scientists, Rodney McKay. He'd been interrupted by literally stumbling over John McCoy, Jack O'Neill's young clone. He'd been startled to say the least.

But as he trotted towards the meeting room, Daniel found another distraction. Aether, the young boy that the team he'd been a part of had rescued from a Wraith culled world, was sitting in the hallway leaning up against the wall with a distracted look on his face. Concerned, Daniel stopped.

“Aether, are you all right?”

The blond boy looked up at him with a smile. “Yes, Daniel. I am fine.”

“What are you doing here? You could get stepped on.”

The boy stood up immediately. “I'm sorry. I will move. But I was listening to the lady sing.”

Taken aback, Daniel looked at the child. “The lady?” 

“Yes, can't you hear her?” Now the boy looked confused. “She sings to me all the time.”

The archaeologist crouched next to the boy. “Does she ever talk to you?”

“Sometimes, when I get lost she tells me where to go.” Aether looked at him worriedly. “Is this wrong? To talk to the lady?”

“No, its actually a good thing.” Daniel told him with a smile. “Not everyone can do it, so its special that you can.” He thought of something else. “Can the other children hear the lady?”

“I don't know.” the child confessed. “Should I ask them?”

“Yes, please do.” A voice in his earpiece called to him again. “Just a minute Rodney. I'm almost there.” Daniel stood up and gathered his equipment again. “I have to go now, Aether. I'll come and talk to you later on, okay?”

“Okay,” the child used this new word he'd just recently learned. “I'll like that,” he smiled. “And I'll ask the others if they can hear her sing too.”

Daniel patted him on the shoulder. “Thank you. I have to go now.”

Aether watched him go and waved as his friend hurried away.

Daniel finally arrived at the meeting room where Rodney and Radek were talking to each other about some new discovery. They both looked up at his arrival. “Nice you could make it Daniel.”

He plopped his books down on the table. “Well, I had some interesting interruptions on the way here.”

Rodney raised an eyebrow. “Oh, anything we should know about?”

“Well yes actually.” He pulled up a chair. “First thing you need to know is that the new Lieutenant that just arrived from Earth is more than just a gung-ho Air Force pilot.”

“Oh, and why is that?” Rodney frowned at him.

“He's actually Jack O'Neill's clone.” at the surprised looks on the other two scientists he continued. “He was created by an Asgard scientist several years ago as a teenager. John is now grown up and has been assigned here due to his strong ATA gene.”

“I met him when he arrived.” Radek commented. “I thought he looked familiar, but I had no idea.”

“Does Sheppard know?” Rodney asked. 

“I don't know, but I'm sure Dr. Beckett will tell him. It's kind of important, I would think.”

“Having another strong ATA carrier will be a great benefit.” Radek nodded.

Rodney looked at Daniel. “Does he have O'Neill's memories too, like Carson has the memories of his previous self?”

Jackson nodded. “He does. Having a young Jack O'Neill on Atlantis will be a great military asset. For all his dumb soldier act, he's really very intelligent and has a lot of combat background. There's a lot there that even I don't know about.”

“Is this going to cause a problem with you and Jack?” 

Daniel looked at Rodney in surprise. “I don't know what you mean.”

“Well, how does this Jack feel about you and your Jack?”

Jackson frowned at him. “Not as far as I'm concerned and I'm not sure its any of your business anyway.”

“Sorry, no offense meant.” Rodney surprised him by backing off. “I just don't want any problems. You, of all people, know how it is in a closed society like Atlantis.”

Daniel continued talking. “The other thing is actually about Atlantis. I just found Aether, the boy from the group of kids we located on the culled planet. He was, and I quote, listening to the lady sing.”

“The lady?” It was Rooney’s turn to be confused. “What lady?”

“You mean Atlantis?” Radek asked in surprise.

Daniel nodded. “He can hear her and she talks to him.” he pursed his lips. “I asked if the other children could hear her also. He's going to ask them for me.”

Rodney frowned at the news. “This could cause a problem with the Athosians fostering the kids. I don't know how they'll react to their having the ATA gene.” he typed a note into his laptop. “We need to brief Sheppard when you find out. We'll also have to tell Teyla.”

“Do you think they'll refuse to take them?”

“I don't know. They have an almost religious reverence for carriers. They may refuse to take them or they may be more eager. But first we need to find out how many have it. If he's the only one we might foster him here.”

“Jack and I had talked about it.” Daniel admitted. “The boy is the son of the Chief's adviser, the Shaman. He's interesting to me for that reason alone. He knows a lot of the tribe's traditions and social mores. Knowing he has the gene makes him doubly important.”

Rodney looked at his coworker and nodded. “Sheppard and Woolsey needs to be brought into the loop on both these issues. O'Neill too I suppose.” Daniel nodded. “Other than these two developments, how are things going?”

Radek shook his head. “Going as usual it seems. New and strange every day.”

“Well, yes. But that's why we're here isn't it.” Rodney looked at him. “Let's continue on with these weekly reports.”

They all looked to their laptops and continued on with more mundane matters of running the city. And the lady sang.


	7. Chap 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another new development. And Daniel is a genius.

Daniel entered the apartment that he shared with Jack. “Hey! Are you here?”

“Hey.” The older man sauntered out of the kitchen area. “Just making some dinner.”

Daniel kissed him on the cheek then sniffed the air. “Fish?”

Jack laughed and held his hands up approximately 2 feet apart. “Big fish. I'm broiling filets even as we speak.”

The younger man smiled at his partner's happiness. “Great.” he looked after him as O'Neill turned and headed back to the cooking area. “Oh, by the way, John McCoy is here.”

“Who?” Jack stuck his head out past the doorway with his curious eyebrow peaked. 

“John, as in Jonathan sort of and McCoy as in, I don't know.”

“Hum,” Jack disappeared. “McCoy as in my mom's maiden name. Glad to see he finally made it.”

“So you knew about this?” Daniel asked as he followed into the kitchen.

“Sure.” Jack pulled a broiler pan out of the oven and sat it on the top of the stove. The younger man came forward and picked at the tail of the beast from the sea. Jack slapped his hand lightly. “Go wash up and set the table.”

Daniel nodded and headed for the bedroom to return without his computer and with damp hands and face. He quickly put the plates and silverware on the table. “So you knew he was coming?”

“Well, I knew that he could if he wanted to.” Jack served the fish along with a salad on the dishes that Daniel placed on the table. He then pulled two brown bottles out of the cooler. “Here try this. It's Carson’s micro brew.”

Daniel grinned at his lover. “What is this? Racial profiling? Why do all Celts think they have to have alcohol?”

“Cause we like it, said the pot to the kettle, Jackson.” he took a big bite of the fish. “And this is excellent if I have to say so myself.”

“You don't. It is really good.” Daniel pointed at the salad. “Hydroponics?” 

“Trade with one of the friendly planets.” his partner replied. “Lots of good food out there if you know where and how.”

Daniel nodded and the two men ate silently for several minutes enjoying the fresh food. Then he spoke quietly. “Oh, by the way. I saw Aerther today.”

“Who?”

“The boy from the culled planet.”

O'Neill nodded. “The boy you want us to foster?”

“Yes, his father was the Shaman of the tribe. He was sitting down leaning against the wall in one of the hallways.” Daniel looked over at O'Neill. “I asked him what he was doing and he said he was listening to the lady sing.”

“Really? So he can hear Atlantis.”

“Evidently.” Daniel nodded at his curious expression. 

“Take him to Carson, have him checked for the ATA gene.”

Daniel chewed thoughtfully. “I escorted him myself. I expect to hear by tomorrow morning. And he's going to ask the other children if they can hear the lady. He can get more information from them than we can.

O'Neill nodded. “If he'll talk to you it will be a lot simpler.”

“And to you, he wants to stay on Atlantis.”

“Are you bribing him?” Jack looked at his partner suspiciously. "to find out more about his people."

“No, of course not. I'd never do that.” Daniel looked at him in surprise. “I just asked him and he said yes. I'd like to, of course, but it would be up to him if he wants to tell me or not.”

“And you want him to live with us?”

“Of course. Who else?”

“Why us?”

“Why not us?” Daniel smiled at him. “You can be a father again.”

“Why me?” 

“Jack, ever since I've known you you've had a big hole in your heart. Every child that needed help, you did your best for including risking your career and even your life. Here is a child who has had everything ripped away from him.” he paused and put down his fork. “He's a special child, with special needs. You can fill those needs.” Daniel reached across and covered Jack's hand with his. “I know you can.”

“How did you get so smart?”

“Genius.” the younger man grinned impishly at him. “Remember?”

Jack smiled. “Old, not stupid.”

Daniel looked at the two now empty plates and raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Not that old.”


End file.
